Trumpet of God: Now Available
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN
In this one-woman show, international mezzo soprano Linn Maxwell embodies the extraordinary life of 12th century German prophetess, healer, and composer, Hildegard of Bingen. Way ahead of her time and in a male-dominated world, Hildegard challenged the established authority of the Church, both philosophically and musically. Accompanying herself on authentic medieval instruments including psaltery, organistrum and harp, Linn performs seven of Hildegard's original songs, and through the mystic's actual letters and writings transports us to the turbulent times of the Crusades in Western Europe. Hildegard's timeless universal message of spiritual truth, holistic healing and caring for the earth is more urgent today than ever.
LILLI MARLENE
Lilli Marlene is the gripping story of three devoted friends who met at the Vienna Academy of Music between the wars - Daphne in Landsburg, Indiana who is no longer singing and is not happy about it, Rose in the London Music Halls performing for the troops . . . on and off stage, and Lilli in the Opera Houses of Berlin, as Hitler's favorite Wagnerian interpreter. Separated by oceans and continents, their lives are brutally interrupted by the chaos of World War II that engulfs their nations and threatens to shatter their very lives.
BROADWAY YESTERDAY & TODAY
This lively cabaret show features current Broadway hit songs and also explores the lives of two strong women who made major contributions to music theater, Julie Andrews and Lotte Lenya. Julie Andrews will always be remembered as Maria in the film version of The Sound of Music but she created many other roles, some well-known and some forgotten. Linn explores her fascinating life with its twists and turns of fate, visiting songs such as "Just You Wait," "Le Jazz Hot" and "Raindrops on Roses." Lotte Lenya was a pivotal figure in bringing the music of her husband, Kurt Weill, to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic after World War II and Kurt's untimely death at age 50. She starred in the first English language production of The Threepenny Opera which started New York's off-Broadway movement in the 1950's. Becoming the icon of the pre-war Weimar era in Germany, she created the role of Fraülein Schneider in Kander and Ebb's 1968 musical success, Cabaret. Linn looks at Lenya's life in Vienna and Berlin right up to her years in New York.
MARY CASSATT by Libby Larsen
Impressionist artist Mary Cassatt's life in male dominated Parisian culture is brought to life by Linn Maxwell as she portrays the struggles and triumphs in this late 19th century setting. Cassatt's letters have been interpreted magnificently by composer Libby Larsen using 15 of Cassatt's paintings projected overhead during the performance to illustrate key points in the song cycles. This semi-staged cycle of 7 movements unfolds in front of the orchestra as the trombone, portraying the alter-ego of Mary Cassatt, sensitively reveals CassattÕs innermost feelings and other characters in her letters. CassattÕs paintings and drawings of women and children are legendary and the phrase "Would you could hear them talk, their philosophies would astonish you!" haunts the listener long after the concert is over.
